Beyond Death: Snapshots
by GGMK
Summary: Slice-of-life spin-off of my Beyond Death series, focusing more on Thanos and Layla's domestic life. Recommended that you read the main series first. Super fluffy.


**Hello, readers! If you're reading this, I'm assuming that you have already read the parent series, _Beyond Death_, and enjoyed it. Or maybe you liked it, but wanted more fluffy content, as the main series is more plot heavy. I've never considered myself to be a great romance writer, so hopefully by writing this series, my skills grow.**

**This first chapter takes place around chapter 22 of the original _Beyond Death_. Also, while it looks easy in this chapter, remember, trauma can't be overcome so easily. Anyway, enjoy!**

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Layla woke up gasping, sweat coating her skin. Her nightmare had been so vivid. She shivered as the cold air hit her skin, but hummed in appreciation when she was enveloped by two warm arms.

For a few minutes, she and Thanos just sat in the darkness as she collected herself and let her heartbeat return to a normal rate. She leaned back against Thanos.

"Layla, my dearest. Is it the nightmare again?" She nodded. Ever since Thanos had rescued her from Takhan, almost every night had seen her dreams plagued by horrific visions of the Kree murdering her, or her friends, or family, or even Thanos. But while those were the most frequent, they weren't the only nightmares she had. Now that she had decided to stop keeping Thanos a secret, her nightmares had adapted, and added scenarios where angry mobs burned her house down, and SHIELD came to kill Thanos, or her family disowned her with disgust in their eyes.

She had already tearfully described her nightmares to Thanos previously, so she didn't feel the need to repeat herself tonight. It had been draining, telling him, but she knew that it wasn't healthy to keep these things to oneself.

"I am sorry. I'm afraid that you are afflicted by these night terrors because of events that I have caused you to be put through." Layla turned around to look him in the eyes, although the room was dark enough that she had to guess.

"No, no. If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't even be alive right now. This is just something I have to work through, that's all. Trauma is never easy, and not something one gets over in a few days."

Thanos frowned at her. "If it was an entity causing you such anguish, I would kill them. I would kill Takahn and ever Kree a hundred times if need be. But this isn't a situation that can be solved with brute force."

Layla smiled at him, before glancing at the electronic clock. It was apparently past three in the morning, and she had to arrive at her school in less than five hours. She was honestly scared to go back to sleep, but she really didn't have a choice, as she didn't want to call in sick. She told Thanos as much.

"Take the day off. You have no reason to force yourself, and I know that your attendance record is spotless. No one can deny you one day off. And if Haynes dares to object…"

Thanos' threat went unfinished as Layla lightly poked him. "But I do want to go, not because I feel like I have to, or because of Mr. Haynes, but because I love the children. I truly do. And if being there for them means braving some nightmares, well, I think I can handle that."

She lay back down on her comfortable bed, and after a pause, her request came out soft. "But, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, maybe I'd sleep easier if you held me." Thanos chuckled as he hugged her from behind. She instantly felt safer. It was a comforting gesture from a man who probably wasn't used to doling out such things, and she loved him for it.

"My gem, you don't need to ask. I'm all too willing to do this for you. If you think it'll help your nightmares disperse, I'll do this every night with no complaint." She smiled as she snuggled up to him as close as physically possible, before drifting off once more.

When her eyes "opened", she was back in the Kree ship. Her heart constricted in terror. It always began the same, and then ended with blood and death. She would never look at drills the same way again. She squeezed her eyes shut and pinched herself, hoping she would awaken back in her room, but nothing doing.

After a few moments of silence, save for the thrumming purr of what she assumed was the ship's engine, she opened her eyes. Her nightmares were never this quiet. Now that she looked around, she didn't see any Kree walking around. Wondering if her nightmare was changing it's pattern, she cautiously walked around the ship's bridge.

When she couldn't find anyone, she headed down one of the sparkly-clean but also creepily sterile hallways. Not a soul was around. She held her breath as she passed what she now called the "torture room". She flinched when she caught a glimpse of the drill, but no one was there to operate it. After a moment, she speedily moved on, not wanting to spend another second near that room.

Feeling oddly exhausted for someone who was dreaming, she headed down to where the bunkers were (and wasn't it messed up that she had memorized part of the ship thanks to her frequent nightmares?) and found a cot to lie down in. It was large, not quite as large as the bed she and Thanos shared back home, but large enough. As she closed her eyes, she felt a warm embrace. She smiled. It had been the right move to ask Thanos to hold her back in the real world. The warmth lulled her to "sleep".

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As Layla walked around the ship with a hesitant nature to her steps, Thanos silently watched from the captain's chair. She couldn't see him as he had made himself invisible. True, a nightmare wasn't something he could simply punch away like a normal enemy. But, with his telepathy, there was no reason why a mete-physical punch wouldn't work the same way. Truthfully, he had never used his powers in this way - to enter someone's mind while they lay dreaming. There was always the possibility that it wouldn't work.

But now he was glad he had made the attempt. Before Layla's mind could even completely enter the dreamspace, Thanos had made sure to murder every Kree he could find in the ship. He had felt extreme satisfaction when he choked Takhan and watched the life drain from his eyes. He made sure to hide the bodies, as a Kree corpse wouldn't be of much comfort to Layla.

Thanos followed her as Layla walked down the hallway, his fists involuntarily clenching when she passed the room with the drill. She was shaking. If he could have done it without calling attention to himself, he would have torn that drill apart, smashing it down to the last atom.

But what Layla needed right now wasn't an impressive showing of fury and violence, but something more…tranquil. As Layla lay down, perhaps preparing to awaken back in the real world, Thanos copied his movement from before, embracing her from behind, an action that was once alien to him, but now came naturally, at least when it involved Layla. He could feel more than hear her breathing grow steady.

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Layla woke to the sensation of being rocked, as if someone was shaking her. "My dear, you don't want to be late."

She groaned. "A few more minutes, daddy." A deep and bemused chuckle was her reply, and her eyes shot open in time to see a slight grin on Thanos' face. She blushed; she couldn't believe she just said that! It was easily the most mortifying thing she had ever said to Thanos.

"I see you had good rest." She paused from her embarrassment to reflect that, yeah, she felt pretty good. Great, even. She couldn't even remember the dream she had, but somehow, she could tell that it hadn't been a nightmare. A nightmare wouldn't have left her feeling so refreshed.

"I did." Layla grinned at Thanos, suddenly feeling thrilled. "I really did. I guess being held by you really did work. I hope…I don't want to jinx it, but maybe this is the end of my nightmares." Thanos smiled back at her.

"Somehow, I suspect your nightmares won't be bothering you anymore."

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